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| Pine Warbler -- JC "Sonny" Gilbert WMA, Sicily Island Hills |
Related Posts
- most recent visit to Sicily Island Hills, on 8/19 (with links to previous visits) -
https://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2019/08/sicily-island-hills-wma-and-fort.html
- most recent visit to north side of SI Hills -
https://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2018/05/loose-alliance-field-trip-to-sicily.html
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Most often when I go to Sicily Island Hills, I go to the southern side of JC "Sonny" Gilbert WMA (aka Sicily Island Hills WMA), accessing it from LA-8. I hadn't been all the way around to the north side, accessed from LA-915, since April 2018, so I figured it was time to check in on that area.
On the way I stopped at what I hear is called Norris Spring. The roadside spring, with pipes for folks to fill their jugs, has a pull-off/parking area situated beside LA-913,
approximately 3 miles north of LA-8, or 0.9 miles south of LA-915.
There's a foot bridge (rickety but gets the job done) over the spring-fed gully, and beyond the spring and stream is a wooded hillside.
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| parking by the spring on west side of LA-913 |
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| bridge to the spring |
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| Creek Chub beside the bridge |
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| Norris Spring |
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| Blue Mistflowers near the spring |
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I ended up spending nearly an hour here and found the birding to be pretty good. I should make this a regular birding stop, at least if I'm already in the area to visit Sicily Island Hills. Below is the list of birds for Norris Spring before moving on to the Sicily Island Hills content.
Norris Spring (LA-913 north of Leland)
7:51 a.m.; 52 mins; ~0.5 acres
~70 F.; sunny; calm/light breeze
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1
Eastern Screech-Owl - 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 2
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Pileated Woodpecker - 1
White-eyed Vireo - 2
Blue Jay - 1
American Crow - 2
Carolina Chickadee - 2
Tufted Titmouse - 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 2
Carolina Wren - 2
Eastern Bluebird - 1
American Redstart - 1
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| female or immature American Redstart |
Pine Warbler - 1
Summer Tanager - 2
Northern Cardinal - 2
Indigo Bunting - 1
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Sicily Island Hills...
Description
As stated before, I visited the north part of the Sicily Island Hills WMA. None of the internal roads cross the Big Creek valley to connect the roads accessed from the north and south entrances. The north part of the WMA is accessed by turning south/west off LA-915, about 0.9 miles west of LA-913, onto a gravel road (look for the brown WMA sign on the highway, directly across from the turn). The WMA doesn't start right away, so the road passes through private land in the Sicily Island Hills for some distance. The road forks before entering the WMA. The main road continues east-west, but the road to the south leads to an area where old gravel pits form ponds that attract some species unlikely to be encountered elsewhere in the hills. I went down the road to the ponds first. The entrance into the WMA is marked by a gate and a self clearing kiosk (don't forget to fill out your self clearing permit!).
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| just inside WMA |
The final 1.2 miles or so of this road is in the WMA, including the area with the ponds. The WMA HQ is also located on this road.
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| woods along the road to the ponds |
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| boat launch on the big pond |
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| ... |
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| the big pond |
While there I also walked a little ways down the ATV trail that goes by the smaller ponds.
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| one of the ponds by the ATV trail |
After that I went back and took the main east-west road, which enters the WMA a little ways west of the fork (look for gate and self clearing kiosk; camping area is nearby). A portion of road a little ways beyond the kiosk skirts along the WMA's boundary with some private land (signs), but I've decided to count that as part of my WMA list. The road continues on deeper into the WMA and the impressive forests of the Sicily Island Hills (impressive in the parts that weren't partially logged a few years ago, that is!).
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| main east-west road through WMA |
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| habitat in the area that was partly logged a few years ago |
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| habitat along main east-west road once back into the un-logged areas |
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On maps it appears that the main road will take one almost to the Ouachita River, but that is not quite the case. This was the first time that I tried to drive the entire road (too muddy on previous visits), but this time I found that near the western end it is gated at the point where it crosses the corner of some private land (Ouachita Hunting Club) before (according to LDWF online map) continuing as a drive-able road on the WMA. Oh well...
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On the way back I drove a side road that runs south from the main east-west road in the direction of Big Creek. However, this road is also barred by a gate and private property. This gate is about 1.3 miles down the road.
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| south side road through partly logged area |
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| back in the woods, near south end of side road |
Finally, I walked the length of Saint Mary Falls Trail. The trail head is on the main east-west road and the trail forms an approximately one-mile loop in the woods north of the road.
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| St Mary Falls Trail |
The terrain is very hilly, following ridge tops in some areas, but dropping down steep hillsides to follow streams in others.
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| St Mary Falls Trail |
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The main stream that it follows for a significant portion of the trail's length is I believe called Sandy Bayou.
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| trail at Sandy Bayou |
Two creeks come together to form this main stream, and each of these has an impressive (by Louisiana standards) waterfall just before the confluence. I
think the one of the north fork is St Mary Falls.
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| St Mary Falls -- It looks smaller in this photo than it really is; it's probably a 6-foot drop or more. |
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| St Mary Falls Trail at a tributary stream |
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| looking back "down" the trail |
I was surprised by just how dry conditions were in Sicily Island Hills on this day. This region of the country is in a drought, but it seemed worse in this location than in some other places in Cenla. The vegetation was wilting, some of the leaves on the trees were crumpled and brown, and streams that usually flow were dry (hey, no water for the waterfalls! See section about wildlife along the trail for more on stream's condition.). While birds seemed to be in good numbers, some other wildlife such as butterflies were in unexpectedly low numbers and I suspect it has to do with the pitifully dry conditions.
Birds and Other Wildlife
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| Pine Warbler -- road to ponds |
Despite the dry conditions bird activity in Sicily Island Hills was good for this time of the season.
At the large pond, there were two groups of Common Gallinules -- two birds close to the road, and three (that I could see) in the distance in the edge of vegetation toward the west end of the pond. Before I saw the nearer gallinules, I heard them giving their 'putt' calls. Walking to get a better look, I flushed a juvenile or immature Cooper's Hawk that had been in the dead snags right over the aquatic vegetation where the gallinules were hidden. Eventually the gallinules swam into the open and actually came up near where I was where they stopped to bathe and preen.
(video: Common Gallinules)
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| Common Gallinules |
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| a small male Bluegill in the pond |
Walking about 0.15 miles of the nearby ATV trail (as far as the first smaller ponds on the left) I found a few additional creatures including a Green Heron at the pond, and for non-avian fauna, a North American Racer (snake) and a Least Skipper (butterfly).
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| North American Racer |
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| Racer |
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| Racer |
Loose flocks of woodland songbirds were encountered pretty frequently throughout the day and in most areas -- Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee, Pine Warbler, and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher being some of the typical members of these groups. Along the main east-west road, I found a Blackburnian Warbler with one of these groups, foraging along the middle and upper branches of the trees.
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| Blackburnian Warbler |
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| Blackburnian Warbler |
Red-eyed Vireos, White-eyed Vireos, a Yellow-throated Vireo, Summer Tanagers, and woodpeckers were sometimes present with these groups as well.
(video: Red-eyed Vireo eating caterpillar -- main east-west road)
I walked St Mary Falls Trail clockwise (opposite direction from arrows on trail markers) so that I reached the creek -- Sandy Bayou I believe is the correct name of the stream, but I tend to think of it as St Mary Creek -- at the farthest downstream trail crossing. I was shocked to see that the creek was dry!
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| Sandy Bayou |
I understood this not-insignificant stream to be spring-fed. The drought really is quite bad it seems. I followed the creek upstream and was glad that at least there were still some pools of water here and there. A few of the larger ones (though even those are just a few yards long, and most mere inches deep) held this section of stream's last surviving fishes.
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| first pool encountered when going upstream -- spot where the three fish photos below were taken |
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| more dry stream bed |
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| another pool, at confluence with small tributary |
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| looking down at what would normally be a small waterfall |
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| confluence of the two main forks / waterfalls |
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| St Mary Falls (there were Creek Chubs in the little pool there) |
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| the waterfall on the east branch -- there were fish and a Cottonmouth in the pool below the waterfall |
Creek Chubs, topminnows, and the young of catfish, pickerel, and sunfishes were among the holdouts in these last refuges.
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| Creek Chubs -- the most numerous fish that I could see in these pools |
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| a young pickerel (maybe Chain Pickerel?) |
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| young catfishes |
With slim rain chances on the 7-day weather forecast, things look bad for the aquatic fauna.
It seemed like every frog in the woods was along the creek -- and considering that it's one of the only sources of moisture in that part of the woods, that may have been the the case! Blanchard's Cricket Frogs were present in the hundreds -- I could hardly take two steps without one leaping out of the way.
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| Blanchard's Cricket Frog |
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| Green (Bronze) Frogs sheltering under rock on stream bed |
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| Southern Leopard Frog |
Numerous lizards -- Green Anoles and young Little Brown Skinks -- were in and along the stream bed. The anoles were usually on the large rocks that litter the stream bed, the skinks scrambling for cover near the bank.
Several species of butterflies and moths were present along the creek in woods that otherwise were Lepidoptera-poor on this day. Both Creole Pearly-eye and Southern Pearly-eye butterflies were present on the stream bed, and a few pearly-eyes that I didn't see well enough to ID at the species level were also present (probably additional Southerns and Creoles, but Northern Pearly-eye also occurs in Sicily Island Hills).
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| Southern Pearly-eye |
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| Creole Pearly-eye -- at same spot as above Southern P-eye |
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| Another Creole Pearly-eye, upstream |
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| and a third Creole Pearly-eye |
In a couple of places I spotted Carissima Underwing Moths clinging to the underside of overhanging sections of steep creek bank.
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| Carissima Underwings under overhanging bank |
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| Carissima Underwing |
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| Carissima Underwing at another spot upstream |
Below are the lists for birds, mammals, Herps, fishes, butterflies, and Odonata, from this visit to the WMA.
JC "Sonny" Gilbert WMA (Sicily Island Hills WMA)
8:55 a.m.; 7 hrs 35 mins; 7.1 miles
75-90 F.; sunny, then variable between cloudy and sunny; near calm at first, then light wind
Birds
Common Gallinule - 5
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| Common Gallinules |
Anhinga - 1 - at the big pond
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| Anhinga |
Green Heron - 1 - at smaller pond
Turkey Vulture - 1
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Eastern Screech-Owl - 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 7
Downy Woodpecker - 7
Pileated Woodpecker - 5
Acadian Flycatcher - 3
Great Crested Flycatcher - 2
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| Great Crested Flycatcher |
White-eyed Vireo - 9
Yellow-throated Vireo - 1
Red-eyed Vireo - 4
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| Red-eyed Vireo with caterpillar |
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| Red-eyed Vireo eating caterpillar |
Blue Jay - 10
American Crow - 5
Carolina Chickadee - 28
Tufted Titmouse - 30
Northern Rough-winged Swallow - 3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 9
Carolina Wren - 18
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| Carolina Wren |
Gray Catbird - 1
Hooded Warbler - 2
Blackburnian Warbler - 1
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| Blackburnian Warbler |
Pine Warbler - 17
Summer Tanager - 4
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| male Summer Tanager with caterpillar |
Northern Cardinal - 19
Indigo Bunting - 1
Mammals
Nine-banded Armadillo, Eastern Fox Squirrel (very few squirrels; does NOT feel like it's almost squirrel season!)
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| Nine-banded Armadillo -- St Mary Falls Trail |
Herps
Blanchard's Cricket Frog, Green (Bronze) Frog, Southern Leopard Frog; Little Brown Skink, Green Anole, North American Racer, Cottonmouth, Pond Slider
Fishes
pickerel sp., catfish spp., Creek Chub, shiner/minnow (Cyprinid) sp., Blackspotted/Blackstripe Topminnow, Western Mosquitofish, Bluegill, sunfish sp.
(video: Bluegill feeding)
Butterflies
Common Checkered-Skipper -
Clouded Skipper -
Least Skipper -
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| Least Skipper -- by the smaller ponds |
Cloudless Sulphur -
Little Yellow -
Sleepy Orange -
Gulf Fritillary -
'Astyanax' Red-spotted Purple -
Red Admiral -
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| Red Admiral -- Sandy Bayou / St Mary Falls Trail |
Common Buckeye -
Gemmed Satyr -
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| Gemmed Satyr -- St Mary Falls Trail |
Carolina Satyr -
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| mating pair of Carolina Satyrs -- Sandy Bayou / St Mary Falls Trail |
Southern Pearly-eye -
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| Southern Pearly-eye -- Sandy Bayou |
Creole Pearly-eye -
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| Creole Pearly-eye -- Sandy Bayou |
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| Creole Pearly-eye -- Sandy Bayou |
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| Creole Pearly-eye -- same individual as photos immediately above and below |
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| Creole Pearly-eye -- same individual in 2 above photos |
Dragonflies & Damselflies
Eastern Pondhawk, Common Green Darner; Ebony Jewelwing
As always, if you spot any incorrect IDs or have suggestions for those that I'm unsure about, feel free to let me know.
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